Age and Health as Factors for Court-Ordered Alimony Decisions

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Abstract

“Age and health of the parties” appears midway down the list of factors to be considered by the California court tasked with determining who gets alimony, in what amount, and for how long. This factor—actually two factors the courts frequently treat as independent of each other (while relating them intimately to other factors on the legislative list)—assumed importance after the shift to no-fault divorce, as California’s courts began to focus on the support of post-divorce spouses who had limited ability to become self-sufficient. Today, as California alimony law has evolved, the question deserves to be asked whether this importance is more appearance than reality.